Ore separator



w. A. HOMAN 1,964,733

July 3, 1934.

ORE SEPARATOR Filed May 12, .1932

WA L 75/? A. //0 MA/v.

IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented July 3, 1934 PATENT OFFICE UNITED STATES ORE SEPARATOR Walter A. Homan, Los Angeles, Calif. Application May 12, 1932, Serial No. 610,898 6 Claims. (Cl. 209-479) This invention relates to improvements in ore separators and has reference more particularly to a machine for separating minerals from gangue without the use of water.

"n many parts of the United States and other countries of the world, there are large deposits of ore or sand and gravel which contain gold and other minerals, but which cannot readily be separated because there is not suihcient water available to enable the usual method of separation to be employed. 7

It .is the object of this invention to produce a simple and substantial machine that shall be especially well adapted for effecting a dry separation of minerals from gangue and which can be economically operated.

In the treatment of low grade ores, it is essential to economical handling to remove and dispose of the bulk of the same as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

The machine that forms the subject ofthis invention is provided with an inclined chute that is vibrated in the direction of its length and onto the upper end of which the ore is deposited from a hopper. As the ore moves downwardly along the inclined chute, it is bedded and stratified so as to bring the heavier particles towards the bottom. The chute is inclined at an angle of about eight degrees with the horizon and is reciprocated in the direction of its length, thereby producing a slow downward movement of the ore.

Near the lower end of the chute the bottom is provided with slots or openings, and below these is a flashboard extending diagonally across the chute. As the bedded material flows downwardly, the bottom layer passes through the openings in the bottom of the chute and the top layers are directed to the side by the flashboard and discharged through an opening in the side of the chute. For the purpose of limiting the amount that passes through the opening, a second chute is provided which is located underneath the first and extends a short distance above the open- 5 ings. The amount of material that passes through the openings is limited in accordance with the distance between the lower surface of the upper chute and the upper surface of the lower chute. At the lower end of the lower chute,

means is provided for directing a blast of electrifled air across the upper surface of the material for the purpose of still further removing gangue from the ore.

Having thus briefly described the invention, the

same will now be described in detail and. for this purposereference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated, and in which:

Fig. l is a longitudinal vertical section through the improved separator; I

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly broken away, looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2.

The machine consists of a supporting frame which has been shown in a more or less diagrammatic manner and which comprises four vertical supports 5 and 6. Supports 5 are located at the upper end of the chute and supports 6 at the lower end. The supports are connected by means of a shaft or other suitable element '7 and carry rollers 8 on which the chute is supported. The chute consists of two sections A and B. Section A has a bottom 9 which may have a fiat smooth 'upper surface. On each side of the bottom are sides 10. Adjacent the lower end of the chute, the bottom is provided with a plurality of transversely extending slots 11, which may be of any suitable size, but are preferably quite narrow. Section B has a bottom 12 of the same kind of material as section A and is slightly wider than section A and is provided with sides 13. The upper ends of sides 13 are slightly wider than the lower ends and extend upwardly along the outside of the sides 10. These wider portions have been U5 designated by reference numeral 14. Parts 14 are provided with slots 15 for the reception of clamping bolts 16. These bolts extend through openings in sideslll. By virtue of the slots, the distance between the lower surface of bottom 9 and the upper surface of bottom 12 can be adjusted. The upper end of chute section B abuts a transverse board 17 that is secured to the bottom of the chute section A by means of an angle iron 18 or some similar expedient. It is apparent from Fig. 3 that the upper surface of bottom 12 can be brought as close to the inner surface of the bottom 9 as may be found necessary. The object in adjusting the distance between the adjacent surfaces of bottoms 9 and 12 will appear 1W hereinafter.

Extending from the supports 5 is a platform 19 that forms a support for the motor 20. This motor has been shown as provided with an eccentric 21 that is surrounded by means of a strap l 22. The eccentric strap has a connecting rod 23 whose free end is provided with a bearing 24. This bearing is located between brackets 25 and is connected to the latter by means of a pivot pin '26. When the motor is operating, the ro- 1w tation of the eccentric will impart a longitudinal reciprocating motion to the chute. A hopper is supported by the upper ends of supports 5 and by the additional supports 27. This hopper has an inclined side 28 that is inclined downwardly and upwardly with respect to the chute. The other side 29 of this hopper terminates a short distance from the upper surface of side 28 and forms an opening 30 through which the material can pass inits passage to the chute. The material is directed onto the chute in a direction toward the upper end of the chute and this assists in stratifying because the heavier particles will have greater momentum than the lighter and will go farther up, thereby being deposited closer to the bottom than the light particles.

Located near the bottom of section B is a box 31 which is preferably made of insulating material, such as dry lumber, or other suitable dielectric. Located within the box is a wire screen 32 that is connected to one terminal of a high potential source of electricity. This source has been illustrated in Fig. 1 as comprising a transformer having a primary coil 33 and a secondary 34. The primary is connected to a source of alternating current and one terminal of the secondary is connected with the screen by means of a conductor 35. A pipe 36 is connected with the exhaust port of a fan 37. When the fan is in operation and the screen 32 is electrified, a stream of highly electrified air will emerge from the opening 38 and be directed across the lower end of the chute as indicated by arrow 39 in Fig. 2. At the lower end of the fiashboard an opening 41 is provided through which the coarse gangue can leave the upper chute.

Let us now assume that the machine is constructed in the manner above described and that a mixture of gangue and minerals is deposited in the hopper and the chute is vibrated longitudinally by the action of the motor. As the material passes downwardly along the upper surface of the bottom of chute A, it will be bedded and stratified in such a way that the particles having the greatest specific gravity will assume a position nearer the upper surface of the bottom than the lighter particles. When the material reaches the openings 11, the stratification will be complete and the heavier particles will then pass through the openings onto the bottom of chute section B. It is apparent that unless means were provided to prevent it, the greater part of the ore would pass through the openings 11, but in order to prevent this, the chute section B is adjusted so as to allow only a predetermined amount to flow and this limits the amount of the ore that can pass through the openings 11. By adjusting the position of the chute B, this amount can be varied to any extent desired. By having the openings directly above the bottom of the-.fchute section B, this separation takes place without disturbing the arrangement of the minerals and the gangue. It is apparent that only the smaller and heavier particles will pass through the openings 11 and as these pass downwardly, they are again subjected to a bedding and stratifying action so that when the material reaches the position of opening 38, the upper layers will be composed almost entirely of gangue, and this will be attracted by the electrified air and removed. The material that leaves the lower end of section B will be highly concentrated and can be subjected to another electric separation by a similar machine, if desired.

Particular attention is called to the specific construction of this machine, and. especially to the use of the two section chute located in the manner shown in Fig. 1 in which the lower chute serves to determine the amount of material removed from the bottom of the stratified ore contained in chute section A because this results in a very simple machine that is especially well adapted for this purpose.

In the specification the denser particles have been referred to as the heavier particles and it is to be understood that by the word heavier" the weight per unit of mass is referred to and not the product of the density and volume.

In the above description this machine has been described as if it were suitable for dry ore only but actual tests have shown that it is equally well adapted for 'use with wet ore pulp. When water is mixed with the ore the electrified air becomes useless because it is evident that it will have no influence on the wet particles. The heavier particles will go to the bottom of the layer of wet pulp in the manner described in connection with composed of an upper and a lower section supported thereon,- means for depositing a layer of dry ore on the bottom of the upper chute section near its upper end, means for reciprocating the chute in the direction of its length whereby the ore will be caused to move downwardly and whereby the particles of greatest density will move to the bottom of the layer, means near the lower end of the chute for removing a portion of the ore from the bottom of the ore layer, means for directing the remaining portion of the ore through a discharge opening-in'the side of the upper chute section, the lowersection of the chute being positioned to receive the ore that is removed from the bottom of the ore layer, and means for directing a stream of electrified air across the lower end of the lower section whereby the upper layers, consisting of lighter gangue particles, will be raised and removed.

2. A dry ore concentrating device comprising, in combination, a supporting framework, an inclined chute composed of an upper and a lower section supported on the framework and mounted for reciprocation in the direction of its length, the lower section of the chute having its upper end located underneath the lower end of the upper section and spaced a short distance from the lower surface thereof, the lower end of the bottom of the upper section having an opening extending transversely thereof, a fiashboard extending directly below the opening for directing material to a discharge opening in one side of the upper chute section, means for depositing a layer of dry ore of uniform thickness on the bottom of the upper chute section adjacent its upper end, means for reciprocating the chute whereby the ore will be made to travel downwardly and whereby the heavier particles will move to the bottom of the layer, the heavier particles forming the bottom of the layer passing through the opening and onto the lower chute section where they will be subjected to another stratifying action by the reciprocation of the chute and means near the lower end of the lower chute section for directing a blast of electrified air across the ore whereby the lighter particles will be removed;

3. A dry ore concentrating device comprising 7 tom of the upper section having an opening extending transversely thereof, means for adjusting the distance between the adjacent surfaces of the bottoms of the two sections, a fla'shboardextending diagonally across the lower end of the upper section directly below the opening for di-' recting material to a discharge opening in one side of the upper chute section, means for depositing a layer of dry ore of uniform thickness on the bottom of the upper chute section adjacent its upper end, means for reciprocating the chute whereby the ore will be made to travel downwardly and whereby the heavier particles will move to the bottom of the layer, the heavier particles forming the bottom of the layer passing, through the openings and onto the lower chute section where they will be subjected to another stratifying action by the reciprocation of the chute and means near the lower end of the lower chute section for directing a blast of electrified air across the ore whereby the lighter particles will be removed.

4. A dry ore concentrating device comprising, in combination, a supporting framework, an inclined chute composed of an upper and a lowersection supported on the framework and mounted for reciprocation in the direction of its length, the lower section of the chute having its upper end located underneath the lower end of the upper section and spaced a short distance from the lower surface thereof,;the lower end of the bottom of the upper section having an opening extending transversely thereof, a box of insulating material located adjacent one side of the lower chute section near its lower end, an electric conductor located in the box, means for charging the conductor with electricity at a high potential, the box having an opening at the side adjacent the chute and means for delivering air under pressure to the inside of the box whereby thegf-air will become charged with electricity and issue from the opening in a stream which is directed across thechute and will attract and remove the lighter particles of gangue from the ore.

5. The method of concentrating dry ore which consists in subjecting the ore particles to reciprocation in an inclined plane whereby the heavier particles will move to the bottom of the layer removing a portion of the ore from the bottom of the layer, subjecting the removed portion to a stratifying action and removing a portion of the upper surface of the layer by the action of a current of electrified air.

6. An ore concentrating device comprising, in

combination, a support framework, an inclined chute composed of an upper and a lower section supported on the framework and mounted for reciprocation in the direction of its length, the lower section of the chute having its upper end located underneath the lower end of the upper section and spaced a short distance from the lower surface thereof, the lower end of the bottom of the upper section having an opening extending transversely thereof, a flashbcard extending across the upper chute directly below the opening for directing material to a discharge opening in one side of the upper chute section, means for depositing a layer of ore of uniform thickness on the bottom of the upper chute section ad- 

